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Prologue

Justice By Duchess

Deceinald Truder, presiding

“I didn’t mean to marry both of them!”

“The proble twice, buta second husband while the first is still alive”

“Well, I didn’t want Avery to die,” Loveday Billing explained “I just wanted to marry John, that’s all I couldn’t stop myself I was that tired, and lonely, and he…he sat with ”

The judge snorted and Loveday thought he ain

The Duchess of Berrow had very kind eyes, but she shook her head at Loveday “You were already married to Avery, that is, Mr Mosley, when you married John”

Loveday hung her head “Avery left o,” she said “I didn’t know as hoanted me anytime”

The duchess had a quiet sort of prettiness about her, like a preacher’s wife Her goas black, but it had a shine to it Her hair was lovely too, looped and frilled and ruffed over her head, the way fine ladies did those things And her eyes were so forgiving that Loveday suddenly felt like telling the truth It was as if she were a youngster back in herstolen a cake

“I ain’t really married to Avery Mosley,” she said Out of the corner of her eye she saw Avery swing up his head “I was already married before I married Avery And I didn’t really marry him because it were an Irish minister named Usher and he told e”

Avery probably fell off his chair at that news, but Loveday was focused on the duchess “My da married me off the first time, when I elve”

“Twelve!”

The duchess looked a bit stricken, so she tried to explain “It wasn’t so bad I had developed, you see, and I orth so, and it wasn’t so bad”

“What is his name?”

“That was Mr Buckley But he died, so after Mr Buckley passed on, I married Harold Eccles”

“I don’t suppose that Mr Eccles is dead?” The duchess sounded hopeful

“He’s about as alive as anyone could be in debtor’s prison I always visits hiot him for He’s been there almost eleven years now

“So I ht “—Monsieur Giovanni Battista He was an Italian loves, and then he went away instead”

“And then Mr Mosley ca?” the duchess asked

Loveday nodded “I shouldn’t have done it,” she said “I knows as I shouldn’t have But I didn’t knohat to do, and he asked me But he left”

“You were in a difficult position,” the duchess said “If I have this right, your first husband died, the second is in prison, the third went to Italy, the fourth was not a real e, and the fifth—”

“I had no one to care for myself and the babes because my dad doesn’t speak to me after the Italian man”

“Children?” The duchess looked through the long pieces of paper that were floating around the table “There’s no s”

The fancy Londonnext to John answered “It was not considered relevant to the ood faith as the certificates indicate And ular? Surely the Honorable Judge Truder should be roused?”

The duchess ignored him Loveday could have told the London man that in Berrow, this was the way of it Truder was a drunk, but it didn’t really ether, just as it was in the old days, and that was good enough for the town of Berrow

“Whose children are they?” the duchess said, turning back to Loveday

“All of theave them each one Except for John, of course, because we only o”